


I Can't

by abetternameneeded



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25908115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abetternameneeded/pseuds/abetternameneeded
Summary: Sometimes Alice forgets she can go outside; Robin reminds her.
Relationships: Alice | Tilly/Robin | Margot
Kudos: 18





	I Can't

Robin Mills stretched as she rolled out of bed. It had been too dark for her to head back to camp when she and Alice had returned from an adventure. Robin tried to be quiet, Alice would wake at the slighest of sounds and Alice only slept every few days. A habit held over from her days being held prisoner in a tower all alone. Robin fought back the urge to voice the several choice words she wanted to aim at Gothel, the venegful witch that had trapped Alice in the tower to begin with. The sun was further in the sky than it would be normally but Alice was clearly exhausted. Robin would just let her sleep. She gently set one foot on the floor. The slightest movement caused the matress to move creating the subtlist of sound. And with that Alice was awake. But just barely.

Alice woke up to a sound. What had that been? It sounded like…she couldn't place the sound. Had her bed gotten lower? Had the floor moved? She wasn't quite awake yet. Half asleep and still her mind was racing. It never stopped. She was alone so often. And in her half asleep state, she thought it was all the time. She glanced over and let out a yelp of suprise. Oh rihgt, no longer in the tower. She could be around people now. She knew people. Robin. Just Robin. Oh Robin had pretty eyes. Alice let herself get momentarily distracted and was snapped out of it with Robin's greeting:

"Good morning, tower girl."

"Hi," Alice told her. Too tired and half asleep to think of proper plesantries.

"So, what do you want to do today?" asked Alice glancing over at Alice.

"Hmmm…not sure, I think I have some games around here somewhere?"

Robin was a little concerned. Alice Jones? Wanting to stay inside? Maybe that trip to Oz hadn't been the best idea. But it had been fun. Running around through portals with Alice.

"Okay." They ate breakfast and chattered the whole way through Alice still seeming really tired and groggy. And then they played several rounds of a game Robin had never heard of and was frankly not that good at. If they were playing by traditional rules or not was lost on her, anyway.

And then they were bored of doing the same thing over and over again. Robin figured now would be a good time to get the adventurer bak to adventuring.

"Hey, Alice,"

"Hmmm?"

"Let's go outside."

Alice's face fell. Robin thought that was odd. Alice loved going outside. Hated coming inside unless she had to.

"I can't. Remember?"

Robin blinked. She held her restraint but briefly wondered if she should have aimed a little closer to the heart when she'd had the chance to plow an arrow in Gothel's direction. Alice was exhausted. She'd forgotten she was free now.

"Yes, you can."

Alice looked confused. "You can. Yesterday we went to Oz and while we certaily aren't welcome back you can go anywhere you want. And a few weeks ago you got into an argument with some prince or something in Narnia. And you can go outside."

It hurt Robin that Alice had spent so much time unable to feel the grass or touch the trees or breathe in the fresh air around her that sometimes she forgot that she could now.

"So do you want to go outside?" Robin offered again.

"Aye," Alice told her. The small word reminded Robin of yet another wrong Gothel had inflicted towards Alice.

And they went outside and watched the clouds together, occasionally sneaking in a kiss or two when the clouds weren't grabbing all of Alice's attention. She was free. And with Robin laying next to her cuddled into her side as the clouds floated above them, she didn't feel so trapped any more


End file.
